"It?s Christmas Eve and the human beings that drive European markets, even those programming the algorithms are turning their attention to subjects far-removed from the daily price swings," said CMC Markets analyst Jasper Lawler.

"Stock markets hours are reduced across Europe and volume should be a fraction of its normal levels."

The Frankfurt stock exchange was shut on Wednesday. Germany's DAX 30 had risen 0.57 percent Tuesday to close at 9,922.11 points in its last trading day before the holiday.

World stock markets had soared Tuesday, propelled by official data showing that US gross domestic product (GDP) grew at 5.0 percent in the third quarter.

That marked a major upgrade from the previous growth estimate of 3.9 percent, and outstripped analyst predictions of 4.3 percent.

European equities jumped Tuesday on Wall Street's coat-tails as the Dow shot above 18,000 points for the first time on the GDP surprise, while the euro slumped.

Wall Street hit fresh records, extending last week's "Santa Claus rally", with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing above 18,000 for the first time ever and the S&P 500 setting a new high.

It also supported the dollar, which advanced on renewed hopes the US Federal Reserve will raise interest rates before other leading central banks in mid-2015.